Meanwhile, in the garden ...

While the play park is taking shape, the community garden is showing signs of spring being imminent. 

Crocus amongst the strawberries.

Carpet of strawberries, with daffodils breaking through.

Rhubarb beginning to grow.

Fennel showing signs of life.

More progress.

Two swing frames are now in place, & today we got to watch a crane lowering an enormous piece of timber into a hole. 

The view from the road: 

The view from the bottom of the park:

Heavy lifting:

With a bit of editing this could be an impressive caber toss!

Looking like it is going to be a LOT of fun to climb and play on! :) 

Visible Progress.

 We now have 'Shock Headed Peter' in place. 

And a few pieces of play equipment installed, with further excavation & preparation continuing for the rest of the pieces. 

Work begins!

The contractors moved on site on Monday to prepare for the installation of play equipment in the park. It's exciting that we're now at the stage of making the play park a reality!

Watch this space for further progress...

Big Garden Birdwatch 24-25 January 2015

Count the wildlife that's counting on you

Join thousands of others and pick an hour over the weekend to discover the wildlife in your garden*. Register now to receive your FREE PACK and exclusive £5 RSPB Shop discount*.

Register Now

Why take part?

Bird populations are a great indicator of the health of the countryside.

That's why it's so important to take part in surveys like Big Garden Birdwatch to keep an eye on the ups and downs of the wildlife where we live.

All you need to do is spend an hour over the weekend of 24-25 January counting the birds in your garden. It's that simple!

How to take part

1. Register

   Register online before the day to receive reminders and your free information pack.

2. Watch and Record

   Watch and record the number of birds in your garden, or nearby green space.

3. Submit 

   Submit your results live from your device, or by mail if you'd rather fill out a paper form.

Register Now

* If you haven't got a garden, get along to Cuthill Park!

Main Issues Report - have your say!

East Lothian Council commenced public consultation on its Main Issues Report (MIR) on Monday 17 Nov 2014.  

This means that if you’re an East Lothian resident or have an interest in the future development of the area, the council want to hear your views!

The MIR is the first formal stage leading to the new East Lothian Local Development Plan.  

The consultation document sets out possible strategies for accommodating new development such as housing, business and retail in East Lothian. 

Following the consultation, the council will consider all responses and use these in preparing the Proposed Local Development Plan, which is expected to be published in late 2015.  

The consultation period will run from Mon 17 Nov 2014 to Sun 8 Feb 2015.

A public consultation event takes place today, Thursday November 20, in Prestonpans Community Centre from 2 until 5.30 (drop-in at any point).

Responses to the consultation should be made via the Consultation Hub.  

Find out more about the MIR and the public consultation via the links below.

More on Local Development Plan

1. Main Issues Report (MIR)
2. Main Issues Report consultation events
3. Main Issues Report documents
4. Main Issues Report FAQs
5. MIR summaries and maps
6. Responding to the MIR consultation
7. Initial consultation and site submissions (2012-13)
8. Contacts and further advice

The summary for the Prestonpans area can be viewed here.

What does this mean for Cuthill Park?

Briefly, Cuthill Park is protected by a Minute of Agreement - a robust yet flexible legally-binding document designed to protect green spaces in perpetuity.

Before a development could take place, permission would have to be sought from Fields in Trust whose aim is to protect open spaces for future generations to enjoy.

Trustees' Week 2014

Trustees' Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.  

Trustees play a vital role in a charity like the Friends of Cuthill Park, and few people realise just how much responsibility they shoulder.   

The main duty of charity trustees is to maintain general overall control of the charity. 

Trustees need to ensure that the charity is administered effectively, and is able to account for its activities.

A charity Trustee must:

•  act in the interests of the charity
• ensure that the charity operates in a manner that is consisent with its objects or purposes
• act with the care and diligence that it is reasonable to expect of a person who is managing the affairs of another person
• ensure that the charity complies with the provisions of The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and other relevant legislation.

In addition to these general duties, Trustees have specific duties relating to:

• charity details on the Scottish Charity Register
• reporting to OSCR
• financial record keeping and reporting
• fundraising
• providing information to the public

In other words...the buck stops with them!  

Thank you to all the Trustees of the Friends of Cuthill Park ((Scottish Charity Number SC040402)!